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read this for class it was very interesting to read so many different stories of Hmong refugees in one compilation
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Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America
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This collection of evocative personal testimonies by three generations of Hmong refugees is the first to describe their lives in Laos as slash-and-burn farmers, as refugees after a Communist government came to power in 1975, and as immigrants in the United States. Reflecting on the homes left behind, their narratives chronicle the difficulties of forging a new identity. From Jou Yee Xiong's Life
"I stopped teaching my sons many of the Hmong ways because I felt my ancestors and I had suffered enough already. I thought that teaching my children the old ways would only place a burden on them." From Ka Pao Xiong's (Jou Yee Xiong's son) Life
"It has been very difficult for us to adapt because we had no professions or trades and we suffered from culture shock. Here in America, both the husband and wife must work simultaneously to earn enough money to live on. Many of our children are ignorant of the Hmong way of life…. Even the old people are forgetting about their life in Laos, as they enjoy the prosperity and good life in America." From Xang Mao Xiong's Life
"When the Communists took over Laos and General Vang Pao fled with his family, we, too, decided to leave. Not only my family, but thousands of Hmong tried to flee. I rented a car for thirty thousand Laotian dollars, and it took us to Nasu…. We felt compelled to leave because many of us had been connected to the CIA…. Thousands of Hmong were traveling on foot. Along the way, many of them were shot and killed by Communist soldiers. We witnessed a bloody massacre of civilians." From Vue Vang's Life
"Life was so hard in the [Thai refugee] camp that when we found out we could go to the United States, we did not hesitate to grasp the chance. We knew that were we to remain in the camp, there would be no hope for a better future. We would not be able to offer our children anything better than a life of perpetual poverty and anguish."
"I stopped teaching my sons many of the Hmong ways because I felt my ancestors and I had suffered enough already. I thought that teaching my children the old ways would only place a burden on them." From Ka Pao Xiong's (Jou Yee Xiong's son) Life
"It has been very difficult for us to adapt because we had no professions or trades and we suffered from culture shock. Here in America, both the husband and wife must work simultaneously to earn enough money to live on. Many of our children are ignorant of the Hmong way of life…. Even the old people are forgetting about their life in Laos, as they enjoy the prosperity and good life in America." From Xang Mao Xiong's Life
"When the Communists took over Laos and General Vang Pao fled with his family, we, too, decided to leave. Not only my family, but thousands of Hmong tried to flee. I rented a car for thirty thousand Laotian dollars, and it took us to Nasu…. We felt compelled to leave because many of us had been connected to the CIA…. Thousands of Hmong were traveling on foot. Along the way, many of them were shot and killed by Communist soldiers. We witnessed a bloody massacre of civilians." From Vue Vang's Life
"Life was so hard in the [Thai refugee] camp that when we found out we could go to the United States, we did not hesitate to grasp the chance. We knew that were we to remain in the camp, there would be no hope for a better future. We would not be able to offer our children anything better than a life of perpetual poverty and anguish."
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Genres
asia
267 pages, Paperback
First published April 1,1994
This edition
- Format
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267 pages, Paperback
- Published
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April 27, 1994 by Temple University Press
- ISBN
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9781566391634
- ASIN
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1566391636
- Language
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English
About the author
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Sucheng Chan is a Chinese-American historian, scholar, and author, recognized for her contributions to Asian American Studies. She was the first to establish a full-fledged autonomous Department of Asian American Studies at a major U.S. research university and became the first Asian American woman to hold the title of provost in the University of California system.
Born in Shanghai in 1941, Chan and her family moved to Hong Kong in 1949, Malaysia in 1950, and later to the United States in 1957. She earned a BA in Economics from Swarthmore College (1963), an MA in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi (1965), and a PhD in Political Science from UC Berkeley (1973).
Chan taught at several UC campuses, including Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Diego. She retired due to post-polio syndrome but continued to contribute to the field, donating her extensive collection of research materials to academic institutions. She has authored and edited numerous books on Asian American history, immigration, and race relations, including This Bittersweet Soil: The Chinese in California Agriculture, 1860–1910 (1986) and Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882–1943 (1991).
Throughout her career, Chan received numerous accolades, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (1988), multiple Outstanding Book Awards from the Association for Asian American Studies, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the same organization in 1997. She is married to Mark Juergensmeyer, a scholar of religion and global studies.
Born in Shanghai in 1941, Chan and her family moved to Hong Kong in 1949, Malaysia in 1950, and later to the United States in 1957. She earned a BA in Economics from Swarthmore College (1963), an MA in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi (1965), and a PhD in Political Science from UC Berkeley (1973).
Chan taught at several UC campuses, including Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Diego. She retired due to post-polio syndrome but continued to contribute to the field, donating her extensive collection of research materials to academic institutions. She has authored and edited numerous books on Asian American history, immigration, and race relations, including This Bittersweet Soil: The Chinese in California Agriculture, 1860–1910 (1986) and Entry Denied: Exclusion and the Chinese Community in America, 1882–1943 (1991).
Throughout her career, Chan received numerous accolades, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (1988), multiple Outstanding Book Awards from the Association for Asian American Studies, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the same organization in 1997. She is married to Mark Juergensmeyer, a scholar of religion and global studies.
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Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America by Sucheng Chan is a compilation of five different personal stories about different Hmong families and their lives. Each story deals with something personal to the family, and is told through their own words; translate first person. In addition to the personal stories, there was an introduction, “The Hmong Experience in Asia and the United States” which went in detail about the history of Laos and Southeast Asia from French colonization, wars between Southeast Asian countries and civil wars, all the way to what life can be like to Hmong living here in the United States.
I think this is extremely relevant to my work at Wilder, now more than ever. The Mobile resource Lab will be moving into a new division, Children and family Services. In that new division is where many Hmong clients that Wilder serves are located. Wilder has a lot of programming directed to the South East Asian population surrounding its location. However I have not explored much of this particular culture at all. it was very interesting to read the stories and gain a small understanding of events and life circumstances that lead some of the people in Frog town to where they are today. Hmong Means Free is first person accounts of events and personal beliefs that is very helpful going into working with Hmong families. There are many reasons one would come to America, and I think for me it is important to start really understanding some of the reasons, so that I can better understand where someone may by in life when they come and sit down in my class.
I would recommend this work to CTEPers interested in the struggles that families from other cultures face while immigrating to America, and the struggles they continue to face after getting to America. This particular work is only Hmong stories, so it is more specific. I would say it is particularly relevant to those working in St, Paul, but I would say could be useful to anyone interested on the subject. It could be especially helpful if some are interested in a cohesive, but condensed history of Laos and its relations in Southeast Asia. It is a short read, but to the point and powerful.
I think this is extremely relevant to my work at Wilder, now more than ever. The Mobile resource Lab will be moving into a new division, Children and family Services. In that new division is where many Hmong clients that Wilder serves are located. Wilder has a lot of programming directed to the South East Asian population surrounding its location. However I have not explored much of this particular culture at all. it was very interesting to read the stories and gain a small understanding of events and life circumstances that lead some of the people in Frog town to where they are today. Hmong Means Free is first person accounts of events and personal beliefs that is very helpful going into working with Hmong families. There are many reasons one would come to America, and I think for me it is important to start really understanding some of the reasons, so that I can better understand where someone may by in life when they come and sit down in my class.
I would recommend this work to CTEPers interested in the struggles that families from other cultures face while immigrating to America, and the struggles they continue to face after getting to America. This particular work is only Hmong stories, so it is more specific. I would say it is particularly relevant to those working in St, Paul, but I would say could be useful to anyone interested on the subject. It could be especially helpful if some are interested in a cohesive, but condensed history of Laos and its relations in Southeast Asia. It is a short read, but to the point and powerful.
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The author presents a helpful overview of the history and challenges of the Hmong during the Vietnamese War, and following the resettlement of many refugees in America. The interviews with individuals with lived experiences of fleeing their homes and leaving everything behind, existing in total fear, escaping to Thai refugee camps, and finally coming to America, helps give us insight into the strength and resilience of the Hmong people. Overcoming unbearable hardship, many have survived and achieved success through tenacity and commitment to values of hard work, and family.
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